You want to make your dog “happy,” right? Of course you do. Maybe you buy my argument that, due to the emotional bonds that you’ve developed to your dog, it’s in your self-interest to do so. Or maybe you’ve got another justification. And maybe you agree with me that most humans know precious little about […]
This essay is a continuation of our exploration of the value of canine exercise. In Part One, we discussed the health and welfare benefits of exercise for both you and your dog. Now we turn our attention to pet owners and examine the degree to which, in light of those benefits, they should feel compelled to […]
Is it so intuitive that dogs need (or even want) exercise? We don’t worry ourselves with seeing to it that our pet fish swim laps every morning. Pastured animals don’t run laps around their fields. And, to casual observers, many dogs seem perfectly content to lounge lazily on a couch all day. Even if we […]
Over a charming photograph of a squat English bulldog, the cover of the New York Times Magazine recently asked its readers “Can the Bulldog be Saved?” The accompanying article was written by the immensely talented Benoit Denizet-Lewis and it reflects both the warmth and thoroughness which ordinarily characterize his journalism. The article was an exposé […]
As dog lovers, we make decisions all the time that we believe will make our dogs “happy.” What we buy for their use or consumption, what we choose to do (or not do) with them, how we touch them–indeed, I’d bet that there are very few actions which you take for the purpose of having […]